Joan Nguyen
CEO and Co-founder of Bümo
For International Women's Day, Joan shares her perspective on the topic of Expectations of Being a Woman and she continues to champion them in her own way.
About Joan
Joan is the co-founder and CEO of BümoBrain. Raised with the understanding that education was an important privilege, Joan started MeriEducation, an INC5000 company, at 20 years old, giving educational services ranging from SAT preparation to academic tutoring. As a mother of two toddlers, this intrigue transformed into a true passion for early childhood learning. Thus, Joan co-founded Bümo with the mission of changing the landscape of virtual early childhood education as a robust resource for parents and children who desire to learn through exploration, imagination, innovation, and creativity.
What does International Women's Day and its theme this year, #BreakTheBias, mean to you?
Breaking the Bias means addressing why there are "working moms" and not "working dads" even though both exist; it means knowing why it's easy to understand what SAHM stands for but not quite so for what SAHD does. Breaking The Bias means understanding why is it that when you're a CEO and you say you have kids as a woman, people gasp and praise, "I don't know how you do it all", and why the reaction is different for a male CEO with children. Quite honestly, he's not expected to do it all. Break The Bias means recalibrating what we think is normal so that fierce, strong, incredible women don't carry the weight of this bias - one that they emotionally feel every day but no one ever understands or sees.
If you could have dinner with one inspirational woman (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
I would have dinner with my grandmothers, who both escaped war-torn countries to find a better life for their families.
"The working woman is a working mother, shouldering two roles full-time with heavy expectations -- a recipe for a full burnout."
What do you think is the biggest challenge modern women face in balancing their families, homes and careers?
The biggest challenge is that society has accepted and even embraced the image of the working woman but has not let go of the expectation of the hyper-involved mother. The working woman is a working mother, shouldering two roles full-time with heavy expectations -- a recipe for a full burnout.
What help, resources or support systems do you rely on? Why are they important to you?
Culturally, I am thankful that I can rely on my parents to help, albeit with a lot of guilt. But they are so affirming, reminding me that they are here to always help. I am thankful that my husband assumes many of the parenting duties. I am also thankful for mental health support - therapy groups and one-on-one therapy.
"I do what I want — and I make that known to everyone, even my daughter and son."
Lastly, for our #LBCommunity — amid the varied expectations women face in society today balancing career and family, how do you champion your own perspective or narrative?
I do what I want — and I make that known to everyone, even my daughter and son. It's often said that you should never explain yourself. Quite the contrary, I believe you must explain yourself so others understand. I cook dinner because I love to cook with a glass of wine on the counter. I love to put the kids to sleep because I love to read to them. I tell my team that I will spend time with my family and emails will have to wait.
